William T. Schwartz’s relationship with the College of Law
began decades ago. He was a mentor to law students, he hired UW law graduates, and
he participated in the college’s CLE programs. In his role as Wyoming State Bar
President, he served as a key liaison between the state bar and the law school.
Schwartz not only gave the College of Law his time and expertise, but he was
also a proud monetary supporter of the college.

In 1998, he and his law partner created the William T.
Schwartz and William S. Bon Law Scholarship. Then, in 2007, his law firm,
Schwartz, Bon, Walker and Studer LLC, donated a sizable amount to the Brimmer
Legal Education Center. After his death, his family created the William T.
Schwartz Professor of Law endowment in his honor to ensure that his passion and
dedication to law was passed down to future generations.

The William T. Schwartz Professor of Law endowment is
awarded to a distinguished member of the law faculty who demonstrates a high
degree of integrity, professionalism, and scholarship. The professor is chosen
by the dean of the College of Law in consultation with the Schwartz family. The
professor holds this prestigious position for 5 years, with the chance of
renewal if there is continued evidence of high standards of teaching,
scholarship, and integrity. The funds from this endowment can be used to enhance
salary and to support the recipient’s teaching and scholarship activities.

In 2010, this distinguished professorship was awarded to Jerry
Parkinson, who has been with the University of Wyoming since 1998. Parkinson served
as the dean of the College of Law until 2009, and currently, he teaches civil
procedure, civil rights, Indian law, sports law, and education law. Before
coming to UW, he was a law professor and associate dean at the University of
Oklahoma, where he won an outstanding teacher award three times.

“The honor of holding a professorship—particularly in the
name of somebody like Bill Schwartz, who was not only a giant in the legal
field but just an extraordinary gentleman—is probably more important to
professorship-holders than stipends or anything else,” says Parkinson. “It’s
the recognition that a senior-level professor gains with a named professorship
that means an awful lot.”

William T. Schwartz was born and raised in Wyoming but went
to school at the University of Nebraska, where he studied petroleum geology and
received his bachelor’s degree in 1943. Right out of college, he served in World
War II with the Fifteenth Air Force. By the end of his military career, he had
flown 50 missions, had been promoted to First Lieutenant, and had been awarded
the Air Medal, two Bronze Battle Stars, a Distinguished Unit Badge, and the
Distinguished Flying Cross.

Upon his return to the U.S., he went back to the University
of Nebraska and obtained his law degree in 1948, earning the prestigious Allen
Moot Court Competition Award. He moved back to Casper in 1950 and took his first
job with General Petroleum as legal staff. He served as the lawyer for
Consolidated Royalty Company, then became president and managed a board and
over 1,300 shareholders. His expertise was widespread, but his focus was in
oil, gas, and minerals. In his distinguished career, Schwartz served as the
president of the Wyoming Bar Association and the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law
Foundation.

To honor his life and the influence he had on the legal
system and the state of Wyoming, Schwartz’s family initiated a gift that was
matched by state funds to establish the endowment. The donors include Mary Anne
and Ron Barnes of St. Louis, Missouri, and their children; Susan and the late
Jim Higgins of Belfast, Maine, and their children; Sally and Jim Belcher of
Cheyenne and their children; and Bill and Cheryl Schwartz of Jackson and their
children.

Parkinson is honored to be able to continue the tradition
that Schwartz started and has used the funds to inspire students by enhancing
the classes he offers. Last fall, he taught a class that focused on sports law
and brought in a guest speaker from California, a nationally recognized leader
in sports arbitration. This benefits students by exposing them to a practice of
law that interests them and by giving them a potential career path. Visiting guest
speakers give the students contacts in their fields who could potentially
become mentors.

In addition, Parkinson uses the endowment to continue his
scholarship, which includes his classes, public lectures, and continuing legal
education programs. With these funds, he has completed three articles and is
currently working on a book about NCAA enforcement and infractions
processes—things he wouldn’t have been able to accomplish without the aid of
the endowment.

“The benefits—at least to me—number one is just the honor of
being associated with William T. Schwartz, number two is the opportunity to
really know the Schwartz family, and third is the financial support that offers
the practical benefits that otherwise wouldn’t be there,” says Parkinson.

The university’s mission is to prepare students for the
future and turn them into critical thinkers and leaders—this cannot be
accomplished without first-class faculty. Endowments from donors help the
university succeed in its mission because they allow salary supplements, which
are an important part of keeping senior faculty at the university. The William
T. Schwartz Professor of Law endowment has made a huge impact on Parkinson,
which in turn impacts how he teaches and influences students. But it’s the
relationship with the Schwartz family that has had a lasting effect on the
professor and the College of Law.

“I can’t tell you how much it means to me to have been able
over the last few years to really almost become a part of the Schwartz extended
family,” explains Parkinson. “These kinds of professorships really do connect
donors and professors in a way that is just unique and really special. I feel
like the Schwartzes are my second family here in Wyoming.”

William T. Schwartz made a huge impact on the University of
Wyoming College of Law and the legal profession in Wyoming. In addition to his
donations, six members of his family have attended law school at UW—five of
them have already graduated and the sixth is currently attending. His
remarkable legacy has benefitted previous generations and will continue to make
a marked impact on future generations.